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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I'm guessing there must be at least one regular reader of the blog who's looking at that photo and thinking I've abandoned my South Beach Diet principles and succumbed to the joys of freshly baked bread. If you had that thought when you saw the photo, here's the ingredient list for this bread: white whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, vital wheat gluten, olive oil, and water. Completely diet friendly and easy to make as well! I can't take the credit though, because the recipe is from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the new book from the talented team of Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. (Full disclosure: I received this book from the publisher, although I did get to meet the adorable Zoe from Zoe Bakes in September at the BlogHerFood Conference in San Francisco.) Jeff and Zoe wrote this book after fans of their first book, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, asked for bread recipes with whole grains, and I know readers of Kalyn's Kitchen who are avoiding white flour will be thrilled to hear about this healthier way of making bread. One batch of dough will keep in the refrigerator for many days, so check back tomorrow to see what else I made from the rest of the dough.

White whole wheat flour is a type of whole-grain flour made from a lighter variety of wheat, and it has a less-assertive flavor than most whole wheat flours. You can also make this bread (and many others in the book) from regular whole wheat flour. Start by mixing the flour, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten. And what container what am I mixing those dry ingredients in?

It's the bowl of my new KitchenAid stand mixer! It's blue to match my kitchen, even though it looks kind of black in the photo. I resisted buying one for years, but finally succumbed and now I see why everyone who bakes loves their KitchenAid!

I used the paddle attachment of the KitchenAid to mix the olive oil and water into the dry ingredients, but the book says you can mix it by hand as well. (Don't use the dough hook, this bread is not supposed to be kneaded! The recipe is also not suitable for making in a bread machine for that reason.)

Once the dough is mixed, cover it with something that's not air tight and let it sit at room temperature until it rises and collapses or flattens out on top (or about 2 hours.)

Here's how my dough looked after 2 hours. Jeff and Zoe say the dough is easier to handle when it's been chilled, and I need all the help I can get, so I put it in a plastic container with the lid not completely sealed and kept it in the fridge overnight. (Forgot to take a picture of the bread in the container, blogger error!)

My oven is broken so I was going to try baking this in a toaster oven. Besides the sheet you use to bake the bread (or a baking stone, which I didn't have), you need a container to pour water in to produce steam. This is the system I rigged up, with a roasting pan to hold the water, a little baking sheet for the bread, and some parchment paper.

Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, remove a grapefruit-sized piece of dough, and put the rest back in the fridge for another baking day. Sprinkle the grapefruit-sized piece with flour again, and then fold under until you form a ball with a smooth top. You can stretch it out in a loaf-like shape like I did or keep it round. (This little baking pan is only 8.5 inches long, so this piece of dough is smaller than it looks in this photo.)

The dough has to rest for 90 minutes, but I wanted to preheat the baking sheet (since I didn't have a baking stone), so after 60 minutes, I slid the parchment off. You can see how the dough has expanded.

When the oven is hot, brush the surface of the dough with water, then use a bread knife to cut slashes into the surface of the bread. I wasn't very creative, but I'm sure I'll get better as I make this more!

I removed the heated pans and carefully slid the parchment paper holding the dough back on the baking sheet, then put it back in the oven and poured 3/4 cup water into the tray. (Recipe called for 1 cup water, but my little rigged set-up wouldn't hold that much!)

Here's how my bread looked after I baked it for 30 minutes (removing the parchment paper for the last 10 minutes to brown the bottom.) Not bad for a complete amateur baker who didn't have the right equipment. Credit goes to the book, not my bread-making skills.

And here's what I ate for lunch the day I made the bread, and for the record, that's not butter but Land O' Lakes Fresh Buttery Taste Spread, something I'm going to have to learn to like if I'm going to be baking bread!

100% White Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil
(This is half of original recipe for 100% Whole Wheat Bread with Olive Oil from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day and makes enough dough for 2 loaves of bread. Recipe very slightly adapted by Kalyn to due to lack of correct equipment and no kosher salt!)

In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer if you have one) mix together the flour, yeast, salt, and vital wheat gluten. Then, using the low speed of mixer with the paddle attachment (or a large spoon) mix in the olive oil and water, until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. (The book says use wet hands to mix in all the flour if necessary if you don't have a stand mixer.)

Cover the dough (not air tight) and let sit at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses or flattens out on top (about two hours.) Then you can use the dough right away, or for easier handling, refrigerate for a few hours or as long as ten days.

To prepare dough to bake, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then remove a grapefruit sized piece of dough. Sprinkle with flour again, shape the dough into a ball by folding the sides under and stretching the top to a smooth surface. You can leave it as a ball or make more of a loaf shape like I did. Put dough on a pizza peel, parchment paper, or cookie sheet to rest. (I was supposed to cover it loosely, but I missed that part of the instructions!)

To bake the bread you need a pizza stone or baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone mat, plus another metal baking dish to pour the water used to make steam. (The steam crisps the surface of the bread. You can put the metal dish anywhere that it won't interfere with the bread rising, and in a regular oven I'd put it on a rack under the bread.) The dough needs to rest for 90 minutes, but after 60 minutes, begin preheating the oven to 450F/230C (and heat pizza stone if you have one. I didn't have one so I heated the baking sheet.)

After dough has rested for almost 90 minutes, use a pastry brush to brush the surface with water, then using a serrated knife, cut parallel slashes into the surface of the bread. Then slide the bread (and parchment paper if using) on to the hot pizza stone or baking sheet, and immediately pour 1 cup hot water into the other baking dish and shut the oven door. (My baking dish would only hold 3/4 cup water, but it seemed to work.) Bake bread for 30-35 minutes, or until firm and nicely browned. If you're baking on parchment paper or silicone mat, remove them after 20 minutes so the bottom of the bread will brown. (I baked the loaf in the photos for exactly 30 minutes and it was perfectly done and even a tiny bit overly brown.)

Try to force yourself to let the bread cool before slicing and eating it!

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I make this bread every week for my mother. She has a problem with the vital gluten so I just let the dough sit in my microwave(off of course) for 24 hours and it is light and fluffy in the end just like this recipe. Excellent and easy. Thanks for posting.

The KitchenAid was one of the indispensable pieces of equipment in our kitchen. We even brought it with us to Malaysia -- just couldn't part with it. But now we have to find a 240V-110V transformer that can handle the Amps that our mixer needs.

The bread looks amazing. I have been cooking with oat flour for my family to avoid the 'wheaty' taste of whole wheat flour. I will have to find some of this white whole wheat flour...Love getting in those whole grains!

Frieda, my oven has been broken for quite a while. Seriously thinking about getting a new Viking stove! Loved this healthy bread!

Nina, I'm guessing if you use white whole wheat flour you can sneak this one past the kids.

Chriesi and Joanne, thanks!

Jana, when you make the dough, it's more than you need for one piece of bread. You remove a grape-fruit sized piece of dough, which is how much you need for a loaf, and put the rest back in the fridge for another day.

Lea Ann, use the PADDLE hook, not the dough hook. This bread isn't supposed to be kneaded.

Andrea, who knew I would love the KitchenAid so much!

Green Grandma, this bread isn't suitable for a bread machine, since it doesn't require kneading. (I have a bread machine and there are some breadmaker recipes on the blog, just use the search bar.)

Dara, I loved the bread. I got Vital wheat gluten at whole foods, and I think Smiths Marketplace has it too in the nutrition section (by the Bob's Red Mill stuff.)

I am a big fan of your website and excited to try this bread recipe! I think whole grains are so important in a diet and I’ve swapped out refined carbs for whole grains. Here are some recipes you might be interested in seeing that have whole grains and are very tasty: http://www.shar-on-nutrition.com/?p=362

This looks so good, Kalyn. I see here that you used Land o Lakes spread. You are a Kroeger person, ours is Ralph's here in Los Angeles, have you tried Brummel and Brown spread made w/ yogurt? http://brummelandbrown.com/product1.aspxI like it and seems to be the best choice for those who are trying to get lean, like me!-al

I must apologize again for not keeping up on comments because (insert name of big internet company that I'm starting to hate) is still not sending some comments to my e-mail.) Monica, even though your comment shows up above, it just showed up on the blog dashboard today (Blogger inserts them at the time they are left, no matter what order they're published.) Sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you. To answer your question, I don't think you can make it without the vital wheat gluten. Since the bread isn't kneaded, I think you need that to get it to rise.

Amanda, I did have some for breakfast yesterday; we're channeling each other.

Maria, I'm loving the KitchenAid, and yes, love the book!

Tobias, that's the beauty of this book. You mix the dough (enough for 4 loaves if you don't cut the recipe in half like I did) and then you can bake it over 10 days. Only takes 5 minutes prep time.

Kayln, In one place in your recipe you say to mix the dough and leave it at room temp for a few hours. In another you say to refrigerate the dough for a few hours after mixing. Which is it? I made it today and refrigerated it and I thought the end result was good but needed a little flavor boost. Honey?

Janet, I am so sorry (I hate it when I mess up like this!) The first directions with the step by step photos are right. You should mix the dough and let it sit at room temperature covered (but not air tight) for a few hours ( or until it rises and collapses). At that point, you can use the dough immediately, or for easier handling it can be refrigerated for a few hours (or for as long as ten days.)

I'm so sorry! I have fixed it in the recipe, (I personally wouldn't add honey, but of course that's up to you.) I do recommend buying the book, because there are good explanations of the process and many, many recipes that look good.

Now I'm going to go read through the recipe again to make sure everything is correct now.

Linda, this won't work in a breadmaker because the whole idea of this bread is a dough that doesn't require kneading. There are some breadmaker recipes on the blog that are 100% whole wheat, just use the search bar.

This bread looks easy and delicious. I just finished mixing it, I just used my whisk and then formed the glob thing. You know what I didn't have any trouble finding the Vital Wheat Gluten, I shop at 2 different places and both had it. It's in a lil' box that has a mill on the front, hence the name Hodgson Mill :) I hope mine tastes as good as yours looks!! Thanks

I love your blog. Thank you for posting all the wonderful SBD friendly recipes it really has helped me to know what to eat and make on the SBD. For the recipe mentioned above is it T for Tablespoons or T for teaspoons? I can't seem to figure it out. As usually the Large T stands for Tablespoon for me but how do you get a 3/4 Tablespoon then? Help I thought I knew the basics of baking but I guess I am wrong.

The Harings, the T is for tablespoon. I have a 1/2 T measuring spoon, so I put a half T and then fill it half full for the the other 1/4 T. It's a little tricky due to the way I cut the original recipe in half!

Angie, South Beach doesn't limit serving sizes, they just say that when you start adding things like bread back into your diet after phase one, monitor to make sure you are still losing weight. It's rather a small loaf in diameter, so I'm guessing most people could eat a couple of slices with no problems.

I made this bread. It tasted great but it was super salty. I did the math and it came up to almost/over 400mg a sodium for a teeny little slice, which is about 3x more salty than store bought bread. I have to watch sodium and sugar/carbs both, so this won't do at all. It is possible that it's supposed to be 3/4 of a teaspoon rather than tablespoon? I just mixed a new batch using one teaspoon of fine sea salt but that still gives 187mg sodium for a tiny slice. I'm not sure if cutting the salt back that much will turn out well.

Heather, I just checked and the original recipe used 1 Tablespoon kosher salt to 7 cups of flour, with a note that you can increase or decrease the salt to taste, so you should be able to reduce the amount of salt. I was using sea salt, so maybe if you're using table salt that might make a difference.

I'm guessing this bread won't turn out without the vital wheat gluten, since I know Jeff and Zoe tested the recipes many times for the book. Not sure what you mean by "an ordinary mixer", I would probably just mix the dough by hand if you don't have a paddle attachment for your mixer (the recipe specifies not to use a dough hook.)

Courtney, so sorry it did not work for you. I think I will edit the recipe to say active dry yeast and warm water, but it still should have risen some even the way yo did it, unless you used ice cold water. Did you use the vital wheat gluten? I definitely don't think this would work without that.

You could try rolling the dough out and making breadsticks. Or stretch it out and make fry bread.

Thank you for this post...I was looking for how to make my own bread, and I have a breadmaker, but I didn't want to go that route.I'm terrible when it comes to cooking knowledge.But $4 to $5 whole wheat bread loaves, which tasted very bland, pushed me to explore a little more.I made my own this weekend, and added a little honey, and I think I'm already addicted to making my own bread now.Size of the loaf was smaller than expected, but I think that's a good thing - I need some better portion control aspects in this super-size-me world we live in.The resulting bread was very dense, and I think it was supposed to be, right?I have a question, though...If I'm making a batch of dough that could be used for multiple loaves, do I separate those into balls to put in the freezer before that 2 hour rising time or after, or does it matter?Thank you for introducing me to this, and I need to go now to buy my book :-)

Thanks for joining the conversation! I love hearing from readers and even though I can't always reply to every comment, I will always answer specific questions on a recipe as soon as possible. Sometimes I'm answering by iPhone, so my replies may be short!

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